Worthwhile
by Meta-Blade
Summary: Meta Knight doesn't hate Christmas; he simply doesn't have any reason to celebrate it. Samus/Meta Knight, possible OOC-ness.


**A/N: I've wanted to write something SSB-related for a while, so here it is. Yes, I can make Christmas stories in August. XD  
**

* * *

_Worthwhile_

It was the 15th of December, and the coldest day of the year so far. The Smash Mansion was already bustling with activity as the smashers hung up festive decorations, played in the snow outside and drank hot chocolate. Master Hand had generously decided to postpone all matches until Christmas so everyone would have time to prepare and buy gifts for each other. Now, most of the adults were out shopping, taking advantage of the children being busy having colossal snowball fights to get their pre-Christmas jobs done.

Meta Knight wandered through the near-deserted halls of the mansion while humming softly to himself. He wasn't feeling the festive mood (Christmas was something he hadn't really celebrated before joining the Brawl tournament) but he appreciated the other fighters' efforts to make the place look nice for the holiday season. He hadn't bought any gifts, either - partly because he had no friends to give them too and partly because he knew he wouldn't receive any in return. His incredible prowess as a warrior frightened the other smashers. None of them would speak to him and, to be honest, he was happier being alone rather than attempting to befriend anyone.

_Christmas is not my time of year,_ he mused as he strode through the richly-decorated corridors. Mistletoe and holly hung from the ceilings and, remembering the human tradition of kissing underneath mistletoe branches, he wisely steered clear of them. _Too much chaos and stupidity._

'Hey, Meta!' shouted a nearby voice. He sighed, already knowing who was calling his name. There was only _one_ person in the mansion who was permitted to call him 'Meta' without earning themselves a swift and merciless death (that was only a threat, mind you, but there were times when he would have quite happily carried it out). And that person was the tall, blonde-haired woman in the massive armoured suit who was running towards him right now.

'Good morning, Samus,' he said politely. She was perhaps his only friend... and he still doubted whether she considered _him_ a friend or not, which was why he hadn't bought her a Christmas present. He was already feeling guilty about that, but ah well. It was too late to change anything now.

'Hi, Meta,' she replied, finally reaching him. Now that had his attention, she wasn't speaking half as loudly - she was usually a very quiet person. Rather like _him,_ in fact. At the moment, she was still wearing her orange power suit, possibly for warmth, but had removed the bulky helmet. 'You don't look too happy.'

'I... am not much of a festive person,' he said in a low voice. 'Christmas is not for me...'

'Really?' Samus looked genuinely disappointed; he wondered why. 'Well, we'd better change that as quickly as possible. Come on, let's go to the Lounge and have some hot chocolate.'

The Lounge was a large, comfortable room on the second floor of the Smash Mansion. It featured a lot of thick multicoloured rugs and armchairs, and the walls were covered in massive televison screens. When a fight was going on, you could watch the matches live on these screens. Meta Knight rarely visited the Lounge - it was far too 'cosy' for his tastes - but he didn't want to refuse Samus' suggestion. 'Very well,' he said, nodding.

They walked side-by-side up a few more corridors and up a flight of stairs. Christmas decorations hung everywhere – mistletoe, glittering stars, fake snow (not that it was necessary because there was _real_ snow outside) and trees hanging heavy with shining baubles and wrapped sweets. Even Meta Knight had to admit that it looked quite spectacular, and it a few more days' time the mansion would be unrecognisable.

When they reached the empty Lounge, Samus insisted on making him sit down on the couch while she walked off to find a working hot-drinks machine. Half of them had malfunctioned when last night's snowstorm had messed with the electricity, and Master Hand was still attempting to get them up and running again.

Meta Knight slumped in the couch (which swallowed him up like a beanbag). He wished there was a match going on so he would have something interesting to watch. But the screens on the walls were all blank, and they weren't programmed for watching normal television anyway.

'Here, Meta,' said Samus cheerfully, sitting next to him and passing him a white mug full of some steaming brown liquid. He took it with a murmured thanks and wrapped his large, gloved hands around it before taking an experimental sip. Yes, it was hot chocolate. The _good_ kind (not the disgusting kind you drink out of paper cups). He closed his eyes tiredly and allowed the warmth to seep into his body.

'You seem exhausted,' said Samus, and he opened one eye to see her gazing down at him in concern. 'Haven't had a good night's sleep recently?'

'Not particularly,' he confessed. 'The festivities are keeping me up, so to speak... and those nightly carol-singing contests aren't helping.'

These 'contests' had been invented by Ness, Lucas, the Ice Climbers and Toon Link. The general idea was to divide yourselves into teams and sing Christmas carols so loudly that you drowned out the opposition, which meant a great deal of noise - usually at 11PM at night.

'Aw, I feel sorry for you,' replied Samus sympathetically, although there was a hard glint in her eyes that clearly meant business. 'I'll be sure to have a word with them later. We can't have you falling asleep on Christmas Day because you're so exhausted, can we?' She smirked.

'Samus, I already told you - I do not celebrate things like this. It's all a waste of time to me.'

'Well, this year's different. I'm going to show you how much fun Christmas can be, and I won't let you hide in your room all day like you did last year.'

Meta Knight rolled his eyes, already knowing there was no point in arguing. Once Samus got an idea in her head, she could be downright stubborn about it. 'I will attempt to enjoy myself,' he said. He carefully raised the bottom of his mask to drink some more hot chocolate. 'But do not expect any miracles.'

Samus grinned. 'Don't worry. It'll be great fun,' she promised, patting him on the shoulder. A dull clanking noise was produced when her hand made contact with his armour plate. Then, to his slight relief, she started sipping her own hot chocolate and left him alone. Not that he didn't enjoy her company... but he had trouble understanding exactly why she liked being around him so much.

They sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes, watching the snow gently drifting outside the Lounge window. Nobody interrupted them, for which Meta Knight was immensely grateful. If someone like - for instance - _Peach_ saw them together like this, he'd never hear the end of it.

Eventually, Meta Knight started to feel vaguely awkward. He felt like he ought to be saying something, having a conversation - anything. He glanced surruptitously up at Samus. She was holding her mug between her hands to keep them from freezing, although the mug was anly a quarter full by then, and gazing at the snow falling. Something rose up inside him when he looked at her. He felt happy, and warm... but that was ridiculous. He hadn't been happy at all lately, what with the stupid Christmas celebrations keeping him awake until 3AM every morning.

But there was another reason...

As he watched the other smashers preparing for the festive season, hanging up mistletoe and decorating miniature fir trees, cheerily pestering each other about what gifts they were getting, he had felt _lonely._ It was a sensation he was completely unused to. No matter the occasion, he had never cared that everyone ignored him and left him out. He was normally very glad to be alone. But recently, he'd started feeling a peculiar sadness... what was he missing? Christmas itself, or... or...

Someone in particular?

Samus had been his first and only 'friend' when he turned up for the Brawl tournament over a year ago. They shared a lot of common ground, both being space warriors, and both having experienced a great deal of tragedy in their lives. Like him, she had few people she could trust. He'd seen her chatting with Peach and Zelda on occasion, exchanging advice with Fox and Falco, and teaming up with Pikachu for a few battles. But it didn't seem like she had any true friends at the Smash Mansion, except...

Him.

_Why?_ Tormented by these strange thoughts, he rocked back and forth, clinging to his warm mug for comfort. _Why would she want to befriend _me_ out of all the fighters in this place? What's so special about me? Everyone else is too afraid to even approach me, but Samus... she's different._

Meanwhile, Samus was watching the snow floating aimlessly outside the window while lost in thought. _Meta Knight's not too different from me,_ she realised. _Even though we're completely different species, we seem so similar. He's a skilled warrior and a trustworthy friend..._ She glanced at him; luckily he seemed half-asleep and didn't notice. His mostly-empty mug was about to spill over. Gently, trying not to disturb him, she pulled it from his hands and set it down on a nearby table.

He shuddered slightly, clenching his hands into tight fists as though he wanted to attack someone. His eyes had become hazy, flickering like static on a screen.

'Meta, what's wrong?' Samus asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder again. She could tell something was bothering him badly. He had never acted like this before and it was worrying her.

'Wrong!' he spat, talking so suddenly that she almost jumped away from him in shock. 'Nothing's wrong... I was merely... deep in thought.'

_'Something's_ wrong,' she replied, even more worried when she heard the anger lying beneath his voice. 'Please, Meta, tell me what it is.'

He sighed, slumping a little. 'I have been thinking,' he said, so softly she barely heard it. 'About myself... and you.'

Samus stayed silent, nodding encouragingly to show she was paying attention.

'I have always considered you a - a friend,' he stammered slightly. 'But I do not know if you feel the same way. After all, everyone is either afraid of me or hates my guts. You ought to be no different.'

'But I _do_ consider you a friend, Meta. I have for _months.'_

'And furthermore,' continued the knight, not listening, 'you are a truly powerful warrior... you have visited planets I've never heard of and defeated foes I can only have _nightmares_ about. You have many friends here at the mansion and everyone respects you. What right do I have to... to...' He trailed off, eyes widening behind his visor as though he'd only just become aware of what he was saying.

'To... what?' Samus pressed him, still touching his shoulder. She had a pretty good idea of what he'd been about to say and her heart rate had sped up slightly.

'To...' He struggled to get the words out. 'To... love you,' he finished in a low whisper.

'Oh, Meta.' She was so surprised, and so overjoyed, that couldn't think of a suitable response for a few moments and became increasingly aware of Meta Knight's trembling body, how he seemed to be on the verge of breaking free and dashing out of the Lounge as quickly as he could (or perhaps flying through the window). As the seconds ticked by, she realised with a panic that if she didn't say something now she was going to lose him forever.

'I'm so glad,' she murmured as she gathered him up in a hug. He was so shocked that his eyes turned blind-white.

'A-about wh-what?' he asked tentatively, not moving an inch.

'That you feel the same as I do,' Samus replied. She released him, sitting back and meeting his gaze directly. 'Ever since we met, I've known what a good and reliable friend you are... but when winter came this year, I started to realise that what I felt for you wasn't friendship. Not anymore.'

'Then what was it?'

Instead of answering, Samus leaned down and started fiddling with the strap tying his mask on. He felt it loosen before he could even react to what she was doing. Before the piece of metal came away completely, he recoiled backwards out of pure instinct and held it back on.

'I... would rather you did not remove the mask, Samus,' he said softly. 'I will not look the way you expect me to. It will be a disappointment.'

'How could it disappoint me? I don't care what you look like, Meta. I like you for who you _are,_ not for your appearance. You didn't even see me without my helmet until a month after we starting talking, and were _you_ disappointed?'

'N-no... but that's different...'

'No it isn't,' she said insistently, and reached back to his mask. This time, he stayed motionless and allowed her to pull the circle of metal away. He was quivering faintly with anticipation (and nervousness) but didn't move. He trusted her. He _had_ to trust her. She wouldn't laugh at him because of how he looked... she was a good person, and he knew she really cared about him. _Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh..._

She smiled a little.

_I knew it,_ he thought sourly. _She thinks I'm stupid now. I shouldn't have let her take off that mask -_

'You're adorable!' she said. He stopped mentally ranting at himself and blinked in utter surprise and confusion. 'I never expected you to be so... cute.'

'Wh-what were you expecting?' he dared to ask.

'I'm not sure, really,' she replied, sounding thoughtful. 'I guess I kind of expected you to have a lot of scars, considering all the time you spend fighting. Or that you'd have some weird alien-y face, with multiple pairs of eyes and so on.' She grinned adoringly at him. 'You're actually just a blue version of Kir -'

'Don't say it!' Meta Knight raised a hand. 'I may look like Kirby, but I am not the same species as him. Have you not noticed our different abilities?'

'Well, yes. Also, he doesn't have proper arms or hands.'

'Exactly.'

It was very true. Meta Knight, devoid of his previous mask, resembled Kirby except for his blue skin colour and glowing silver eyes. He was also slightly larger and less flexible than Kirby, unable to bounce into different shapes quite so easily. Right now, his eyes were narrowed slightly from the light (which seemed stronger when he didn't have the mask on) but as he stared at Samus they gradually reopened to their normal size.

She smiled again and reached down to brush her fingers against his head. 'You're not just cute,' she said. 'You're actually pretty cool too. See? You don't need to hide your face with that stupid mask all the time.' Meta Knight began to make a retort, but she silenced him. 'Now, can I finish what I wanted to do before you distracted me?' Then she leaned down to his level and kissed him.

His eyes seared white from shock, then slowly slid shut. Despite being much older than most people thought, he had never kissed anyone in his life and frankly had no idea what it was supposed to be like. But he would later describe this particular kiss as perfect. It felt right - as though he'd finally found something he'd been missing for a very long time. It might sound incredibly corny, but he felt like he'd located the other half of his soul.

When they eventually pulled apart, all they could do was press their foreheads together and draw in some much-needed breath. Samus was still smiling slightly, that little smirk that always meant she'd accomplished something. Meta Knight's eyes were glowing brightly, making him wish he had the power to control how much light they gave off.

'That was...' He paused to try and think of the right word. 'Excellent.' Then he mentally face-palmed. _What a stupid way to describe something like that._

'I think so too,' she murmured. While Meta Knight might have hated his choice of word, Samus thought it described their first kiss very well. 'So, do you believe me now?'

'Believe... what?'

'That I care about you even though you seem to think I shouldn't?'

'Oh. That.' Meta Knight hesitated, drawing out the moment, then said, 'I think I do.'

'So,' Samus continued, 'do I have to actually say it out loud?'

'That would be appreciated.'

'OK, then.' She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him onto her lap. 'I love you, Meta!'

'I love you too,' he responded, and _this_ time he had no difficulty saying it.

'So, you going to celebrate Christmas with me this year? Or not?' Samus asked playfully. 'I know how much you hate it... I wouldn't blame you if you just wanted to hang around in your room all day like before.'

His mouth quirked upwards into an unexpected smirk, and he unfolded his wings and hugged her tightly. 'You're the only thing that makes Christmas worthwhile.'


End file.
